lustrous green and willowlike, which explains why willow is frequently incor- 

 porated in the various common names. The use of seep and water as part of 

 the local names refers to the common occurrence of this bush around springs 

 and streams. The specific name glutinosai refers to the gummy (glutinous) 

 exudations of the branches and leaves. 



This shrub ranges from western Texas to Colorado, southern California, 

 and south through Mexico and Central America to Chile. It is an extremely 

 common shrub in the Southwest, but is largely restricted to stream banks, lake 

 margins, flood plains, canyons, and intermittent stream channels where it fre- 

 quently grows abundantly in nearly pure stands, or as scattered clumps in as- 

 sociation with desertwillow (Chilopsis linearis), mesquites (Prosopis spp.), and 

 other shrubs. It occurs on soils varying from sand to heavy clay, but seems 

 to attain its best development on deep, moist, loamy soils. Its altitudinal range 

 is chieflly between 2,000 and 5,000 feet. 



This shrub is important in erosion control because of its abundance along 

 stream and gully channels, and also on account of its deep and extensive 

 root system. Being worthless as forage for all classes of livestock, it is un- 

 disturbed by grazing animals and serves efficiently as a soil-binder, when 

 much of the palatable vegetation has beea depleted by overuse. The Indians 

 sharpened the pithy stems for use as paint brushes in decorating pottery ; they 

 also employed the long, straight stems in building storehouses. 1 



Baccharis 2 is a large (chiefly South American and Mexican) genus of the 

 composite family (Asteraceae, or Compositae), mainly more or less shrubby, and 

 with the sexes distinct (dioecious). Of the 23 species growing naturally in 

 the United States 16 occur in the far West, chiefly in California and the South- 

 west. The forage value is worthless or poor and some of the species are known 

 to be poisonous. A number of the species are in local repute as medicinal 

 plants; the stiff branches of some of the members are used for home-made 

 brooms. The common explanation of the name Baccharis is that it is de- 

 rived from Bacchus, god of wine, but it was evidently taken by Linnaeus 

 from an old Greek plant name (usually spelled bakJcaris, or ftafceftaris), said 

 to be of Lydian origin, and which applied to some unknown species (perhaps 

 of the composite genus Conyza) whose roots yielded an aromatic oil. 



Yerba-de-pasmo, a Spanish term meaning a weed for chills (B. ramulo'sa, 

 syn. B. pteronioi' des) , is a low, resinous, grayish green bush from 1 to 3 feet 

 high, with numerous clustered, variously toothed leaves. It ranges from 

 western Texas to southern Arizona and south into Mexico on dry, gravelly foot- 

 hills, mesas, and plains in the semidesert shrub, and oak-woodland types. 

 Marsh 8 states that yerba-de-pasmo has been definitely proved poisonous to 

 sheep ; he believes it was probably responsible for serious cattle losses in 1918, 

 and later, on the Coronado National Forest of Arizona and the Lincoln National 

 Forest in New Mexico. The species is unpalatable, however, so that losses 

 caused by this plant on the range are normally unknown. Indians and Mexi- 

 cans make tea, which they use as a remedy for chills, from its leaves; hence 

 the common name. 2 



Broom baccharis (B. sarothroi'des), a green, broomlike shrub of the South- 

 west and Mexico, is suspected of being poisonous in the winter and early 

 spring, when it may sometimes be eaten in the absence of palatable forage. 

 This belief, however, has not yet been sustained by experimental research. 



Emory baccharis (B. emo'ryi), a somewhat willowlike shrub from 3 to 12 

 feet high, occurs from Colorado to California and New Mexico. It is a com- 

 mon shrub along washes and flood plains and, to some extent, on dry open 

 ridges. Although its palatability is nil, it is of value in erosion control along 

 intermittent gullies. 



Kidneywort (B. pilula'ris), a common prostrate-spreading or erect shrub, 

 which ranges from Oregon to southern California, is useful in preventing wind 

 erosion of sand dunes. 



1 Russell, F. THE PIMA INDIANS. U. S. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Ann. Kept. (1904-5)26: 

 3- [390], illus. 1908. 



2 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. AST. Misc. Pub. 101. 

 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



8 Marsh C. D. STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF THE RANGE. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 1245, 

 rev., 75 pp., illus. 1929. Supersedes Bull. 575. 



